Your Turn: April 17

Published 12:00 am, Sunday, April 16, 2017

Photo: Courtesy Illustration

Image 1of/1

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 1

This artist's rendering shows the appearance of Alamo Plaza under a master plan that would include an interpretation of the south wall and historic main gate of the mission and 1836 battle compound, made of structural glass. less

This artist's rendering shows the appearance of Alamo Plaza under a master plan that would include an interpretation of the south wall and historic main gate of the mission and 1836 battle compound, made of ... more

The plan to renovate Alamo Plaza is insane. It is horrible. It is idiocy. It is even worse than the travesty created at Main Plaza. Jerusalem, Paris and London all have many historical sites, and they don’t re-create the original spaces and surround them with plexiglass.

The heroes of the Alamo died to protect and give new birth to a city, not a museum. The greatest monument to them is a vibrant city, alive in its core, with its living evolution of architecture. This plan erases history and turns the plaza into some sort of Disneyesque recreation, but with café tables and lots of hot empty space in the sun.

Somebody needs his head examined, and that would cost a lot less than $400,000.

In a few weeks, we will vote on the proposed bond issue that will affect us much more than all the ballyhoo from Washington and Austin.

I heartily support the money for “streets and drainage” but find myself unable to vote for the land bridge for critters and the destruction of Broadway for beautification. Shame on our deceptive leaders who would include luxury with necessity. Broadway remains a safe and necessary artery to downtown.

It is true there will be no tax increase, but bonds must be paid, and that money comes from you and me.

I was upset and appalled at the photo of people sitting on the back of a young alligator.

The alligator was restrained and probably dehydrated in the heat. Humans sitting on the creature as its neck was being extended backward was cruel. Imagine the terror this alligator felt as it was surrounded by a large and loud human crowd as it suffered.

The show was an exercise in cruel savagery. Shame on the organizers of the Poteet Strawberry Festival for allowing such animal abuse in the name of entertainment.

The SPCA is being notified and sent the photograph that was in the Express-News.

The missile strike against Syria represents a stunning reversal from candidate Donald Trump, who criticized President Barack Obama for contemplating similar strikes in 2013. He also criticized Hillary Clinton during the 2016 campaign for her more hawkish approach to dealing with Syria.

President Trump claims the alleged use of chemical weapons and the suffering inflicted upon the Syrian people, particularly children, by the Assad regime changed his mind.

If he has had a change of heart and is considering other options, he should consider rescinding his second “travel ban” and increasing the number of refugees resettled in the U.S. President Trump has stated his desire to cap U.S. refugee resettlement at 50,000 individuals a year, which is far fewer than the 100,000 proposed by the Obama administration, which was inadequate considering there are 3 million to 4 million Syrian refugees currently displaced by the conflict.

If Trump is considering escalating U.S. involvement in the Syrian civil war while simultaneously closing the door to refugees, that will only exacerbate the immense human suffering created by that conflict. It would be strategically foolish, not to mention morally odious, to continue that path.

What passes as progressive or regressive happens in degrees. Sometimes in leaps and bounds. At other times, in small baby steps. What is unknown today may be the reality of tomorrow. Which may or may not negate or enforce what passes as reality and truth today.

This is the wonderful journey or the dreadful plight of the human race. To seek, question, speculate, imagine, dream or conjure about today’s perception of reality. To constantly change even though change is hard fought. To be in the ever-upward spiral sometimes means abandoning the comfort zone.

What worked in the past will probably fall short today due to never-ending changes in environment, circumstance, technology and interaction. The sooner we accept inconsistency as the only consistency, humanity will start to understand itself. We are constantly looking in the mirror trying to discover what is holding us back. It is time to revise our vision to discover what will move us forward.

Ric Wells

Religious tolerance

Re: “Proper garb,” Your Turn, April 7:

What the letter writer fails to realize is that, whether it’s a Sikh turban, a Muslim burka, or a Jewish yarmulke, some of our garb is meant to show constant devotion no matter where we are.

The United States was founded on religious tolerance. Accepting that is acting “as if you want to be Americans.”

I’ve learned during my brief career as a gardener — March and April of this year — that Mother Nature is no respecter of persons. Rain — and bird droppings — fall on the just and unjust. I’m considering giving up gardening.